Anyone have any experience with the Paypal money back guarantee?

[CKB]

Hey everyone. Here's a tale I'd like some comments on. I can't quite figure it out.

 

I made a side deal with someone through email for a CGC book. He paid me via paypal with two payments. The second payment was an additional $2 to cover the $1.35 he forgot to add to get insurance for the package.

 

I mailed the book using my normal packing and mailing techniques for CGC books, one I've used over a couple hundred times, probably. Anyway, he tells me the case is cracked after the book is delivered to Philly. Of course, I had mailed it insured.

 

So I set him set up to go to the post office with all the forms and receipts you need to make a damage claim. I thought the right move was to ask the post office for the cost to get the book reholdered plus all the shipping costs. A few days later I get an email saying the post office took the book and gave him back about $4 less than he paid, and something about it was either that amount or just $16 to get it reholdered (I guess $5 shipping and $11 reholder) and they wouldn't pay the return shipping from CGC. So he said he let the USPS take the book (which is what the forms say they will do for total loss situations) and took the larger amount offered to him. The mysterious machinations of the USPS are well known to me, so after this explanation I agree to refund the $4.

 

Of course, to save fees, I refund the $2 payment first. Then I go to refund $2 of the larger payment, and I get this note for the first time ever:

 

Note:You can only issue a full refund for this transaction because the buyer purchased Money Back Guarantee protection.

 

Ugh. I had no idea about this, so I take a look at this protection paypal offers. In order to make a claim on this, you send Paypal the item that was damaged, or you claim to have never received it, to get your money back minus the protection fee. Supposedly, this process (excpet for non-receipt) does not involve the seller in any way. I find that hard to believe. I also see you can opt out of having this option appear when people buy from you.

 

So, what would stop someone playing games with the "double insurance" thing going on here? My criminal mind kicks into gear, and I think I see room for games.

Anyone have any experience with this? Should you opt-out of the money-back paypal policy as a seller?

 

Anyway, the person has spotless eBay feedback in the 300s. He now seems to have dropped wanting the other part of the refund (I asked him if he was playing games with the insurance - he says no) and praises me for being so easy to work with. I don't know if I just got screwed or just got lucky.

[Ze-man]

My story is simple.

 

I listed a book on Ebay. It was bought and paid for through paypal.

I was late in shipping it.

Told the buyer as much. Kept him imformed. He still requested a refund from Paypal.

They asked me to provide shipping info.

Which I did

I supplied them with the wrong info, wrong USPS slip

They issued him a full refund.

A day later the book arrives at the buyers house, and he also has a full refund. from paypal

I write paypal , telling them I supplied the wrong info, gave them the correct info.

Was told by them since a refund was issued that the buyer would have to re send payment

luckily for me, he did.

 

There, wasnt that simple?

 

 

I thought I was screwed, he had my money and my book. But he made good.

 

Lesson learned, write down the names on the USPS delivery confmation slips, and always keep in touch with a buyer.

 

Ze-

[sterlingcomics]

If you ship through eBay and PayPal, it actually places the insurance/delivery confirmation number in the PayPal transaction. I remember having to keep all of that stuff manually, but they seem to have done a better job at keeping this information in your transactions nowadays. Check it out.

[Rob]

If you ship through eBay and PayPal, it actually places the insurance/delivery confirmation number in the PayPal transaction. I remember having to keep all of that stuff manually, but they seem to have done a better job at keeping this information in your transactions nowadays. Check it out.

 

That makes it much easier. I try to ship through eBay/PayPal when I can because if you're shipping via Priority, then Delivery Confirmation is free. Anything to keep those postage costs down (not to mention my time waiting in line at the PO).

[14 of spades]

what is "shipping through ebay/paypal"?

[panhandlefool]

Through Paypal, use the shipping feature. You'll input the basic info (type of shipping, type/size of package, weight, etc.) and choose your shipping type (Priority, Parcel, Media, etc. - pretty much everything but Bound Printer Matter), and you'll pay for the shipping thru Paypal, and print out your own label. I think you need a decent printer to do this - dot matrix may not work. But I find it worth it as well. And you do get free tracking on some types of shipping, and the buyer doesn't see the actual price you paid for shipping, if you tend to overcharge a little for shipping (does anyone do that??). Anyway, it's pretty easy, and definitely worth learning about and trying out, IMO.