Recently, I sold a 17" MacBook Pro on ebay. The buyer and I had had several email conversations regarding the purchase and shipping of the computer. The long and short of it was a couple of kids were buying the computer for their father as a birthday present and wanted it shipped directly to him. Since they wanted the computer shipped overnight through FedEx, they would provide the shipping label. I had offered free shipping but, not overnight and not for Saturday delivery.
As soon as I got the email from ebay saying "Congratulations, your item sold!", I immediately invoiced the buyer and as promised a couple of hours later she paid through PayPal. I received an email from PayPal telling me the funds were in my account and that they had been "verified." The email also stated that the funds would remain in the "pending" status for the next 21 days. The very next paragraph stated:
"To get access to this money more quickly, please process this order right away and communicate with your customers early and often."
The email ended with the following:
We "recommend" that you:
- Log in and go to the Transaction Details page to see if you're eligible for seller protection on this payment
- Ship to the buyer's address on the Transaction Details page
- Use a shipping service that offers signature confirmation
- Save all tracking information or other proof of shipment
- Let your buyer know their item shipped by adding tracking information on the Transaction Details page
The first person I spoke to at PayPal was very helpful and stated I provided all of the necessary information and that more than likely this was going to be PayPal's loss. I called back later that day and spoke with someone by the name of Matt in the security department, and he had quite a different attitude.
According to Matt, due to my ignorance and the fact I didn't follow all the rules (shipped to a different address that what was on the credit card), this was going to be my loss and next time I sold something he recommended I follow all the rules. I pointed out to Matt that the name was the same on both the credit card and shipping label I was provided. This is where Matt really dug in his heels and kept saying over and over again, I didn't follow all of the rules and I didn't qualify for "Seller's Protection." Numerous times during our conversation, I tried to explain to Matt that for someone who lives in south Florida (as I do), it makes perfect sense for them to have a Maryland billing address but request to have the item shipped to a Florida address anytime after October. Matt could understand that theory.
Even though Matt assured me PayPal was going to do a complete investigation, he was sure they weren't going to do anything for me and that my case would be close. I did manage to get out of Matt what they were going to do in their complete investigation. Here's what he said:
- They would look into the credit use of the person who is claiming his card was used without authorization. If he had several third party people using his card, then they would assume he authorized the charge.
- They would look into how the buyer bought other items through PayPal.
- They would contact the buyer.
I asked Matt how long this complete investigation would take and he said 10 days. I then asked whether that was calendar or business days. He replied 10 days. Again, I asked calendar or business days. I said 10 days, was his response. Again, I asked calendar or business days. This time he asked, what's the difference? I then proceeded to explain the difference to my good friend Matt at which time he said calendar.
As of this morning the case has not been resolved or closed nor have I heard anything from PayPal. I did notice that yesterday PalPay sent a letter to the buyer. Can't imagine what's in the letter, but I'm sure the buyer is real worried.
Any one else have this experience with PayPal?
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