4.Anywhere from 1 to 3 months later,the credit card company requests a chargeback on the unauthorized charge
Chargebacks
When a customer disagrees with a charge on their credit card, they can request their money back. This is known as a chargeback, or reversal. Buyers have the right to request a chargeback on several grounds, the most common of witch are Duplicate Prossesing, Unauthorized Payment, and not as Described/Defective.
This is the beginning. The other thing that happens when a chargeback occurs is that paypay Debits the seller the transaction amount total, plus a fee. Say, for example, you sell an item for $50 and the customer is dissatisfied and requests a chargeback. You, as the seller, would absorb all the costs involved. Here it would have been the $50 plus any fees that PayPal incurred as a result of the fund reversal. PayPal also reserves the right to limit your access to your account, if determined necessary.
It could cost you a lot of money if you do not protect yourself.
The most basic way to protect yourself is to understand how you qualify for the seller protection policy. First of all, protection does not apply to intangible purchases(like ebooks for example), items delivered in person, and claims for items significantly not as described.But it does apply to Unauthorized payments and item not received.
It took me a while but I finally figured out that to see if your item qualifies, either partially or completely for seller protection is on the PayPal transaction page that is generated when a sell is made. From there you will know how much protection your qualified for. The next thing you should avoid is sending to unconfirmed addresses. NEVER do this, EVER.Always get proof of shipment that shows status as shipped and shows a postmark(if possible), date, and recipient's address showing(at least) the city/state or ZIP code. You will also want a proof of delivery that shows the status as delivered, the date, and recipient's address just like the proof of shipping. Though they sound the same, they are actually two different things and PayPal will ask for them as documentation.
Another thing to consider is asking for the customers phone number not only to confirm the sale "in person" but you can also cross-check their number with the address online for a small fee. This will let you know if it is a bogus number/address.
Just try to remember that there are many people out there trying to make a buck online and a lot of them are there to scam unwary people. Statistically Americans are targeted more as they tend to be swayed by the idea of making money for little or no effort. Remember that if it seems too good to be true it probably is.
Come back next week for part 3:PayPal and Ebay~Three things you need to know
Mel
