Hi All

PayPal aren’t great to sellers at the best of times, but this email raised my eyebrows even further than usual... Up to now, at least in the UK, if you refund a customer for a sale, e.g. an eBay return, then PayPal would refund their fees. However from the email I received this morning, see photo below) it seems this will no longer be the case.

- Have I read this correctly? Did anyone else get it?
- Is it just the UK that is changing or has this been the normal situation elsewhere?
- And what do they mean “industry practice”? Surely that can’t be right can it? Do any merchants/ dealers on here tell me how it compares to say Visa or MC, Worldpay etc? Would be helpful to know - I do intend to do the English thing and write a very stiff letter ...

If true, then I guess it’s another of many reasons to avoid PayPal...

 

Is this the same thing that was discussed last year here?
https://omegaforums.net/threads/paypal-will-no-longer-refund-fees.92647/

 

Sounds like this is only coming to you now. They did that last year here in the US. PayPal acts as though they’re the only game in town when there are many more options to pay for things

 

Thanks. Unfortunately here in the UK, cash or wire transfer seem to be the only alternatives to PayPal on eBay at the moment, and understandably some buyers will only buy via PayPal. Hopefully it will be different when the PayPal - eBay agreement ends later this year and a new provider is on board (which may have been driving this change), although I’m not optimistic...

 

Just read this email from PayPal now. It will certainly make selling a high value watch even more risky through PayPal/eBay.
You can certainly bet all the crooks will take advantage of this by threatening sellers with returns unless they send a part refund for the amount PayPal would keep.
I wonder if offering a 3% discount to people who pay via bank/wire transfer will be permitted on eBay listings?

Might be good news for bricks and mortar auction houses though.

 

I think as @CaptainWinsor has pointed out, the US got it last year and here in the UK we are just getting it...

 

My biggest issue with PayPal is as a seller where they somehow believe they are experts in determining authenticity etc with items that a buyer wants to return

 

Nah, Transferwise too.

 

I may be reading this wrong but the way I see it, in case of a refund, only the part of the seller is refunded. The buyer misses out on the transaction fees charged by PayPal being returned.
Again, am I reading this wrong?

 

the fees you originally paid as the seller will not be returned to you

 

Except to all intents and purposes, Transferwise is the same as a bank transfer, because it goes into your account I believe. Buyers like PayPal as it does give them buyer protection if they want to return something. It just doesn’t do anything for sellers...