Does PayPal protect Sellers too?

Paypal

[benevolent001]

hi i know that Paypal gives $10000 guarantee to its buyers but does paypal gives any protections to sellers too?
i gave some services to some one and sent $250 invoice to him but now he is not paying.can i do any thing or just forget the payment
Thanks and regards

[lorax]

Yes, I believe so. I poked around in my PayPal account and found a "Protection for Sellers" section that mentions protection up to $5,000.

[Jon_King]

Yep but they won't protect everything. I have software downloads that are often bought with stolen credit cards. The 'buyer' downloads my software, the transaction is later declined and I lose. They won't cover that. You'll have to read the terms of the insurance closely.

[benevolent001]

but how i should proceed?
should i ask paypal guys for this?
i have address details for the person but the paypay account is not verified

[markbiz]

Jon_King, can you tell me what your percentage is from non-payments? Do you sell to verified users only? Thanks.

[MichaelBluejay]

hi i know that Paypal gives $10000 guarantee to its buyers but does paypal gives any protections to sellers too?
i gave some services to some one and sent $250 invoice to him but now he is not paying.can i do any thing or just forget the payment

You think PayPal should protect you just because you sent an *invoice* asking to be paid through PayPal?

If you asked him to mail you a check, and he didn't, would you think the Post Office should protect you?

If you asked him to pay you with his MasterCard, and he didn't, do you think MasterCard should protect you?

If you met him in person and asked him to hand you a check which you would deposit at your bank, but he didn't, would you complain to your bank about the lack of payment?

[SkyDog]

Paypal does not protect buyers unless they buy the extra "paypal protection". The only way a buyer is protected on paypal is if you use a credit card to pay paypal. If you use your bank account for funds, you are totally unprotected unless you pay extra. Of course they don't advertise this fact, they make it sound as if it's the same as paying by credit card, when in fact, it is not. As far as sellers, I'd imagine they are as helpful as the regular merchant processors. You've heard of buyer beware, how about merchant beware?

[dotme]

PayPal does not do a great job on Seller protection. My client has had a few issues, but not enough to find a new payment processor... yet.

Customer buys a service from you (an intangible).

PayPal confirms the payment. You then provide the service.

Customer claims service never received.

PayPal refunds. Merchant MUST provide proof of delivery according to PayPal, and they only accept UPS, FedEx type confirmation of delivery. If you sell a service, or downloadables with PayPal, you can get stiffed if the buyer knows how to play the game.

[benevolent001]

yes this is the problems with our services
we are offering knowledge based services and cant show any proof.
hence i problem
may be i wd ask for payment before and then work to resolve payment conflicts,but this might draw few customers away i fear

[MichaelBluejay]

In most cases I think you need to get the payment up front anyway. When I first set up shop I decided that I'd let customers pay after I did the work, and that I'd re-evaluate that if someone ever stiffed me. Well guess what -- my *first* client stiffed me! And I was only charging $10/mo. to design & host a one-page website. Now I get the money up front.

On the other hand, if you're selling a service that doesn't take you much time to provide, then you might be able to make more money by letting people pay later, even if a large percenage of them don't pay. If you charged up front you might get 100 customers. If you let people pay later you migh get 150 customers, with 20% of them never paying. You still wind up with 120 customers. Something to think about.

By the way, you can't write off payments you didn't receive for a service as an expense on your taxes. The IRS doesn't allow this because it's too easy to abuse.

If you're unhappy with the poor seller protection offered by PayPal to sellers of services then you can always get a secure server and certificate for about $150/yr. That plus a Merchant Account and you're in business without PayPal.