FYI- to protect yourself as a seller on eBay

[thirdgreenham]

I'm sure this has been brought up before, but I wanted to post it for anyone who sells consistently on eBay and doesn't like getting ripped off.

 

So, if you sell on eBay and don't provide tracking, the buyer can say it never came, then complain to eBay, then get his money back.

 

If you provide tracking, you are covered as a seller, but only for orders under $750.

 

For anything that costs the buyer $750 or more, you will need to ship the item with a signature. Without that signature, you could lose everything, the item and the money. The buyer just has to dispute it and he wins, apparently.

 

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html#resolution1

 

Follow the link and scroll down a little bit to When a buyer doesn't receive an item.

 

When a buyer doesn't receive an item

 

If a buyer doesn't receive an item, the buyer needs to report that they didn't receive the item by contacting the seller from My eBay. The seller should address the buyer's concern and provide updates on the delivery of the item, tracking information, or a refund.

 

If the buyer isn't happy with the seller's response or doesn't receive a response, the buyer can ask us to step in and help.

 

If asked to step in and help, we review the information provided by the buyer and seller for evidence of successful on-time delivery to the buyer's address. We require proof of signature to confirm delivery for items with a total cost of $750 or more.

 

If we determine that the item wasn't successfully delivered, we refund the full cost of the item and original shipping via PayPal. The seller is required to reimburse us for the amount. Learn more about reimbursement.

 

 

I was advised by eBay to put a requirement in my listing that if the price is $750 or more, that they buyer must chose the shipping option that includes signature confirmation.

 

Hope this is helpful to some of you. (thumbs u

 

Andy

[mschmidt]

Unless it changed recently, items worth more than $250 need to be shipped with signature required to be covered by eBay's seller protection.

[Columbia Comics]

Unless it changed recently, items worth more than $250 need to be shipped with signature required to be covered by eBay's seller protection.

 

Pretty sure that's PayPal's requirement....

 

PayPal is your friend whereas eBay is not....I always call PayPal when an issue arises. Gets better results.

[mschmidt]

Unless it changed recently, items worth more than $250 need to be shipped with signature required to be covered by eBay's seller protection.

 

Pretty sure that's PayPal's requirement....

 

PayPal is your friend whereas eBay is not....I always call PayPal when an issue arises. Gets better results.

 

Yeah, you're right:

 

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/security/seller-protection-learn-more

 

Considering the majority of items sold on eBay are paid through Paypal, I'd say it's a good rule of thumb to use either signature confirmation or insurance (which also fulfills the signature requirement) for anything over $250 by default. At least, that's what I do.

[chrisco37]

I'd say it's a good rule of thumb to use either signature confirmation or insurance (which also fulfills the signature requirement) for anything over $250 by default. At least, that's what I do.

 

Seems like a no-brainer.

[W16227]

I'd say it's a good rule of thumb to use either signature confirmation or insurance (which also fulfills the signature requirement) for anything over $250 by default. At least, that's what I do.

 

Seems like a no-brainer.

 

this----

 

and do not even make it an option - price that in to the order

 

having a buyer turn down the "option" for the sig (or insurance) - does not help the seller at all in the case of a dispute .

 

 

[Buzzetta]

Unless it changed recently, items worth more than $250 need to be shipped with signature required to be covered by eBay's seller protection.

 

Pretty sure that's PayPal's requirement....

 

PayPal is your friend whereas eBay is not....I always call PayPal when an issue arises. Gets better results.

 

Yeah, you're right:

 

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/security/seller-protection-learn-more

 

Considering the majority of items sold on eBay are paid through Paypal, I'd say it's a good rule of thumb to use either signature confirmation or insurance (which also fulfills the signature requirement) for anything over $250 by default. At least, that's what I do.

 

Agreed. I have always used the $250 rule of thumb. When I sell something and it is $250 or more that is an automatic addition to the cost of shipping. Not everyone seems to do that when I am the buyer though.

[Comicopolis]

I'd say it's a good rule of thumb to use either signature confirmation or insurance (which also fulfills the signature requirement) for anything over $250 by default. At least, that's what I do.

 

Seems like a no-brainer.

 

Yep.

[Transplant]

Not sure the discrepancy between Ebay and PP and the $250/$750 has been resolved. Didn't PP change signature requirements for England to $750 before a signature was needed? Or was that Ebay? I can't remember.

[thirdgreenham]

Unless it changed recently, items worth more than $250 need to be shipped with signature required to be covered by eBay's seller protection.

 

Pretty sure that's PayPal's requirement....

 

PayPal is your friend whereas eBay is not....I always call PayPal when an issue arises. Gets better results.

 

Yeah, you're right:

 

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/security/seller-protection-learn-more

 

Considering the majority of items sold on eBay are paid through Paypal, I'd say it's a good rule of thumb to use either signature confirmation or insurance (which also fulfills the signature requirement) for anything over $250 by default. At least, that's what I do.

 

Thank you for that, Mike. I heard the $250 number before and wanted to be sure so I called eBay. I'm really surprised that those 2 companies don't use the same dollar amount, since they're holding hands.

 

 

[Transplant]

Here it is.

 

 

Amendments to the PayPal User Agreement

 

Effective Date: May 15, 2014

 

Section 11.1 is being amended to reflect that U.S. Sellers who sell an item to buyers in the U.K. will be subject to the U.K. buyer protection rules which may have greater coverage for buyers. The revised Section 11.1 reads as follows:

 

11.1 PayPal Seller Protection.

PayPal Seller protection is protection we provide Sellers from Claims, Chargebacks, or Reversals that are based on:

 

Unauthorized Transaction or

Item Not Received

 

PayPal Seller protection is available for eligible payments from buyers in any country. When a U.S. seller sells an item to a U.K. buyer, the U.K. buyer protection rules will apply to that transaction.

 

Section 11 of the User Agreement currently requires that sellers obtain signature confirmation for transactions of $250 USD or more in order for a transaction to be eligible for Seller protection for an Item Not Received Claim. That Section also currently includes a table for the corresponding foreign equivalency amount. This section will be changed to increase the dollar amount required for signature confirmation from $250 USD to $750 USD, and the foreign equivalency amounts are also being increased.

 

The revised Section 11.4 reads as follows:

 

11.4 Proof of Shipment, Proof of Delivery and Signature Confirmation Requirements.

 

"Proof of Shipment" is online or physical documentation from a shipping company that includes all of the following:

 

The date the item is shipped.

The recipient’s address matches the shipping address on the Transaction Details Page.

The recipient's address, showing at least the city & province, or city & country or postal code (or international equivalent).

 

"Proof of Delivery" is online documentation from a shipping company that includes all of the following:

 

The date the item is delivered.

The item’s status as delivered.

The recipient’s address matches the shipping address on the Transaction Details Page.

The recipient's address, showing at least the city & province, or city & country or postal code (or international equivalent).

Signature Confirmation as described below if the full amount of the payment, including shipping and taxes, is $750 USD, or its foreign currency equivalent provided below:

 

850 Australian Dollar (AUD)

 

 

950 New Zealand Dollar (NZD)

 

1,750 Brazilian Real (BRL)

 

 

4,600 Norwegian Krone (NOK)

 

850 Canadian Dollar (CAD)

 

 

34,000 Philippine Peso (PHP)

 

15,000 Czech Republic Koruna (CZK)

 

 

2,300Polish New Zloty (PLN)

 

4,100 Danish Krone (DKK)

 

 

450 Pound Sterling – United Kingdom (GBP)

 

550 Euro (EUR)

 

 

950 Singaporean Dollar (SGD)

 

6,000 Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)

 

 

4,950 Swedish Krona (SEK)

 

170,000Hungarian Forint (HUF)

 

 

700 Swiss Franc (CHF)

 

2,700 Israeli Shekel (ILS)

 

 

23,000 Taiwan New Dollar (TWD)

 

77,000 Japanese Yen (JPY)

 

 

24,500 Thai Baht (THB)

 

10,000 Mexican New Peso (MXN)

 

"Signature Confirmation" is online documentation that can be viewed at the shipping company’s website and indicates that the item was signed for on delivery.

 

Section 13.5 of the User Agreement currently requires a Buyer to obtain signature confirmation of return delivery for transactions that total $250 USD or more in order for the transaction to be eligible for PayPal Purchase Protection for a Significantly Not As Described Claim. This section will be amended to increase this dollar threshold from $250 USD to $750 USD.

 

The revised Section 13.5 reads as follows:

 

13.5 Dispute Resolution. If you are unable to resolve a problem directly with a Seller, you can go to the Resolution Centre and follow this process:

 

Open a Dispute. Open a Dispute within 45 Days of the date you made the payment for the item you would like to dispute to negotiate with the Seller for resolution of the Dispute. We will place a hold on all funds related to the transaction in the Seller's Account until the Dispute is resolved or closed.

Escalate the Dispute to a Claim. If you and the Seller are unable to come to an agreement, you can escalate the Dispute to a Claim within 20 Days after opening the Dispute.

 

You must wait at least 7 Days from the date of payment to escalate a Dispute for an Item Not Received (INR), unless the Dispute is for the equivalent of $2,500 U.S. Dollars or more (or currency equivalent). If you do not escalate the Dispute to a Claim within 20 Days, PayPal will close the Dispute.

Respond to PayPal’s requests for information in a timely manner. During the Claim process, PayPal may require you to provide documentation to support your position. You may be asked to provide receipts, third party evaluations, police reports, or anything else that PayPal specifies.

Comply with PayPal’s shipping requests in a timely manner. For Significantly Not as Described (SNAD) Claims, PayPal may require you, at your expense, to ship the item back to the Seller, or to PayPal, or to a third party and to provide proof of delivery.

 

For transactions that total less than $750 USD, proof of delivery is confirmation that can be viewed online and includes the delivery address, delivery date, and the URL to the shipping company’s web site if you’ve selected “Other” in the shipping drop down menu. For transactions that total $750 USD or more, you must get signature confirmation of delivery.

Claim Resolution Process. Once a Dispute has been escalated to a Claim, PayPal will make a final decision in favor of the buyer or the Seller. You may be asked to provide receipts, third party evaluations, police reports, or anything else that PayPal specifies. PayPal retains full discretion to make a final decision in favor of the buyer or the Seller based on any criteria PayPal deems appropriate. In the event that PayPal makes a final decision in favor of the buyer or Seller, each party must comply with PayPal’s decision. PayPal will generally require the buyer to ship an item that the buyer claims is SNAD back to the Seller (at the buyer’s expense), and PayPal will generally require a Seller to accept the item back and refund the buyer the full purchase price plus original shipping costs. In the event a Seller loses a Claim, the Seller will not receive a refund on his or her PayPal or eBay fees associated with the transaction. If you file a SNAD Claim because the item you bought is counterfeit, we may request that you destroy the item.

 

 

The problem still remains of how to economically prove delivery confirmation on packages that go out of the US.

[thirdgreenham]

Not sure the discrepancy between Ebay and PP and the $250/$750 has been resolved. Didn't PP change signature requirements for England to $750 before a signature was needed? Or was that Ebay? I can't remember.

 

It is interesting. I followed the link that Mike provided and I'm now reading $850.

For payments over $850 CAD (or local currency equivalent, including shipping and tax), be sure that you have signature confirmation of delivery in addition to proof of shipment (See above). If a buyer files a claim, you must respond to our requests for information as outlined in our communications to you.

 

Ah, $850 CAD.

 

[Chip Cataldo]

When you print shipping labels through eBay/Paypal, they automatically select the "signature required" option if the total (not just single auctions) purchased is $250 or more. Anyone who is NOT getting this option offered to them as a buyer means that the seller is un-checking that box without telling you and cheaping out.

 

Peace,

 

Chip

[HighStakesComics]

Do insured items require signature confirmation? I usually buy the insurance in lieu of confirming the signature. I figure that way I'm covered either way.

[mschmidt]

Do insured items require signature confirmation? I usually buy the insurance in lieu of confirming the signature. I figure that way I'm covered either way.

 

USPS insured items require a signature by default - so no need to buy signature confirmation on top.

[W16227]

Do insured items require signature confirmation? I usually buy the insurance in lieu of confirming the signature. I figure that way I'm covered either way.

 

USPS insured items require a signature by default - so no need to buy signature confirmation on top.

 

Not for USA - priority mail is insured as part of the postage (and you can add more for higher ticket items) - but no sig confirmation required unless you specifically add it.

 

 

 

 

[mschmidt]

Do insured items require signature confirmation? I usually buy the insurance in lieu of confirming the signature. I figure that way I'm covered either way.

 

USPS insured items require a signature by default - so no need to buy signature confirmation on top.

 

Not for USA - priority mail is insured as part of the postage (and you can add more for higher ticket items) - but no sig confirmation required unless you specifically add it.

 

You're talking about the limited built-in insurance that USPS priority mail provides - I'm talking about when you buy USPS insurance for a package. In the latter case, a signature is always required.

[MultiSig Mike]

Do insured items require signature confirmation? I usually buy the insurance in lieu of confirming the signature. I figure that way I'm covered either way.

 

USPS insured items require a signature by default - so no need to buy signature confirmation on top.

 

Not for USA - priority mail is insured as part of the postage (and you can add more for higher ticket items) - but no sig confirmation required unless you specifically add it.

 

You're talking about the limited built-in insurance that USPS priority mail provides - I'm talking about when you buy USPS insurance for a package. In the latter case, a signature is always required.

 

This is the logic that we've been using (the key word is OVER):

 

"...any insurance over $200 requires a signature. Anything under $200 is just scanned and left at the home."

 

If you want a return receipt, that is an additional fee.

[Jugger Grimrod]

Mike is right, anything insured for domestic shipping under $200 doesn't require a signature. Items shipped over $200 do, but I am unsure if that includes the pre-printed labels done through eBay, as I am curious now.

 

International shipping, a few years ago the postal service told me when I went to ship to the UK that no additional insurance could be added to Priority Mail to the UK, that the insurance that came automatically built-in to the price was all that was allowed. I was told this was a restriction the UK had made, not the Postal Service's decision here in the U.S. I think though that has changed. I ship all over the country but at the time was going into the post office and paying for postage there. Now I do the pre-paid label thing through eBay which not only offers a discount in shipping, but no more standing in line.

 

Also as many know here the postal service doesn't allow for First Class International parcels to be insured, which forces the consumer to pay more for Priority Mail International, however there are third party insurance companies that you can purchase the insurance through and still ship First Class International keeping the costs down for your international buyers because there is a substantial jump in price between First Class and Priority Mail when shipping out of the country.

 

Also, it used to be that First Class International tracking was quite bad, because at the time parcels were only scanned within the the USA, once they left the country it was hard to get any type of tracking status or arrival scan, etc. That has improved a lot within the past six months, First Class International parcels tracked through eBay are providing more scanned locations and final destination scans now which help.

[Inhuman Fiend]

Jugger...yes, eBay printed labels insured for $200 nclude the eSignature confirmation and it actually says so on the label. Saves SO much time over waiting in line at the Post Office...buying a postal scale and printing labels is one of the biggest time-savers ever! Of course I'm talking about domestic parcels...no clue on International. I hold my breath whenever I send an expensive item abroad...