Items held in customs and will be destroyed! - Does PayPal Seller Protection Apply?

[won't submit]

Hi,

How do I stand as far as satisfying the PayPal seller protection policy?

Items sent with tracking number included. Package seized by customs and the customer has received a note saying that the items are going to be destroyed.

If the customer opens a dispute, is the tracking info good enough to satisfy PP?

I though about saying that the customer is refusing to pay the customs tax, in this case I think I win?

Cheers.

[Modee]

The PayPal Buyer and Seller Protection Policies are discussed in these threads

Payments from overseas buyers - Free EBAY, PayPal, Business and Law Forums - Ebay Suspension, PayPal Limited

Paypal disputes process changing for Ebay sellers? - Free EBAY, PayPal, Business and Law Forums - Ebay Suspension, PayPal Limited

PayPal on EBAY versus PayPal on your own website - Buyer Protection Policy - Free EBAY, PayPal, Business and Law Forums - Ebay Suspension, PayPal Limited

Unfortunately, the item's making it into customs is not good enough if the buyer files a non-receipt claim unless you have some independent proof that the buyer received the item, such as an email or something like that. Modee tech support of course can explain how to get something like that together.

As far as playing by the rules for squares, it does not matter what reason the buyer gives for not accepting the goods - if they were not delivered to him, the Seller Protection Policy does not apply.

What you have in your situation, essentially, is proof that the item was SHIPPED. This is good enough to block a PayPal "unauthorized charge" claim and kick in the seller protection policy if the buyer is claiming a fraudulent charge, for example. But merely proving that you shipped, with no proof of final delivery to the customer, will not save you from a non-receipt claim. The Seller Protection Policy for claims of non-receipt requires online trackable proof of delivery to the customer, not just to customs.

An interesting scenario would be if the item is delivered to say a freight forwarder or a UPS Store or Mail Boxes Etc. agent - would the Seller Protection Policy apply then? I suppose it would as long as the delivery address was verified via AVS (address verification service) to be the buyer's billing address.

Also keep in mind that some buyers file credit charge chargebacks. Not nice.
I closed my Significantly not as described dispute, now chargeback may be only hope - Free EBAY, PayPal, Business and Law Forums - Ebay Suspension, PayPal Limited
Keep in mind too that really sneaky buyers in chargebacks will try to claim that they returned the goods to you, and some unethical credit card companies allow the chargeback to go through without proof that the item was in fact returned.

[Capt.John]

After shipping an INSURED item to Belgium vis USPS I am through with overseas sales. I used to sell anywhere in the world. But when my shipment to Belgium got lost the USPS would NOT pay off the claim. They said they could track it to Customs and after that they were off the hook.

This was awhile back and I never got Pay Pal invloved. I just refunded the buyer's money and wrote it off. To add (useless) insurance to USPS shipments outside USA is way too expensive as far as I am concerned. You have to use a higher grade of mail to get the insurance which usually runs double or triple 1st Class so that costs extra too.

In other words, the insurance I paid for did not guarantee that the buyer would get his item (like I thought). Loss of $175. I quit shipping to anywhere but Japan after that unless I really know the buyer well. I have too many good customers in Japan (and almost no shipping problems) to cut off the whole country. But I no longer use USPS insurance since they screwed me on my claim. I tell the buyers anything outside USA is sent at THEIR risk. I know they could probably still come after me if something gets lost, but I have never had a problem with buyers in Japan.