The T&C's of Paypal say you should use an online trackable method of delivery. I'd kick up one helluva stink if I got a charge back and had evidence that the item had been delivered. This is why I and my other half now send everything Recorded or Signed For. Buyers don't seem put off by the extra 70 odd p for Recorded, indeed I think some view it as a positive point.
I think an awful lot of "freebie" goes on, with the PO picking up the tab.
I suspect you may be right, but the seller has to collude in it too because it is the sender who puts the claim in, not the recipient.
My wife picked up a RM claim form the other day for something that had gone missing she had sent, and the form has "eBay item" as a check box for the type of item that has gone missing now! Delivery companies profits must have gone through the roof with the explosion of Internet shopping, and more relevantly, eBay.
Recorded delivery is always the best option, especially if they have paid via Paypal because Paypal will only accept that you have sent an item if they can track the parcel online (i.e. with your Recorded delivery reference number) in the event that someone claims you haven't sent it. Not even a proof of posting receipt is good enough for them, it must be on-line trackable.
Speaking of which, did anyone hear the scam where people were sending empty envelopes by Recorded delivery just so they could give PP the tracking reference to prove that they had returned a "faulty" item to the seller? PP were just processing the claims without a second thought once they had the Rec. deliv. reference number.
Matt
as buyers, we send /all/ our ebay payments by recorded delivery
indeed it is.
Now, there's an industry that needs a shake up. It's got so bad with next-day deliveries that don't happen that I've taken to cross invoicing suppliers to claw back a service I haven't received. It's beginning to work - the odd complaint gets an apology - an invoice and follow-up gets attention, and often, action.
"Collude" is a rather strong word. If you bought something from me and I sent it (with proof of posting but not trackable) and you say it hasn't arrived. Why should I take the hit, when I have entrusted the item to the PO for delivery together with insurance up to the value of 28ish quid?
I suspect that the end result will be the withdrawal of the insurance for items not sent by a trackable method.
I'm not surprised. I wonder if the PO are starting to track recipients for "lost" items...
Thats because looking at and handling bits of paper is expensive and requires people to be with the bits of paper. Online is cheap and can be done anywhere...
Feckin'ell. I guess you could argue the toss with Paypal that no way could your "faulty" widget fit inside an envelope. Send a photo of the envelope with the recorded delivery sticker on it etc. But a lot of hassle, I guess you could insist that they return via a carrier that records the weight but then you'd get parcels of sand... B-)
On or around Fri, 30 Jun 2006 19:37:12 +0100, Matthew Maddock enlightened us thusly:
well, we all have to write to 'em and complain. I can't see what's wrong with a small (and I mean small - under 0.5%) charge on ALL paypal transactions. That would be fair and hit everyone equally and if it was small enough no-one would mind paying a few pence for the convenience factor. And eBay would make just as much out of it as they do charging one part of the Paypal system all the fees.
That assumes that most Paypal accounts aren't Premier Accounts. I suspect that anybody who has sold more than a few things has a Premier Account, you can't take CC funded payments via Paypal if you don't. The vast majority of items on eBay have Paypal as an option and show the CC logos, (I think you can switch the CC logos off).
That one part is probably the majority of active accounts.
On or around Sat, 01 Jul 2006 21:56:48 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice" enlightened us thusly:
yeah, but the people doing most of the selling aren't the ones doing most of the buying, and it's the sellers that are getting charged. Buyers gain just as much convenience from Paypal as sellers do, but if you predominantly buy then you get a free ride, paid for by the sellers. It'd still be fairer if everyone paid a small amount rather than the sellers copping all of it. Granted, they're not daft, people who take a LOT of money get to pay a lower percentage. the smaller sellers are worst hit, like me, paying 3.4%, which is not excatly a trivial amount. On the things I sell regularly in my shop, it amounts to anything from about 3 to about 6 quid per sale, typically. Although in that case I could up the price to compensate.
You mean just like everyone who uses a CC to buy anything. I know that UK law allows a surcharge for CC payments but how many common retail outlets apply a surcharge?
So get a merchant account to accept CCs directly then you can legitmately charge extra for CC payments. I suspect you'd be hard pushed to get 3.4% for a low volume merchant account...
Which is what business's do. So cash customers are the ones really get ripped off paying more than they should to cover the (non-existant) CC fees, though it could be argued that handling cash also has it's costs, security, trips to bank etc...
I'd agrue that - going to the bank is an expensive business in time and money, plus the bank charges for paying in cash and cheques. Cards are, for an "average" transaction, no more, and probably less than other payments, particlarly as cash payments are a rapidly diminishing proportion of sales making the trip less and less "viable".
I still wouldn't trust PayPal though - it'll be interesting to see how Google's new payment system works out.
Richard
On or around Mon, 03 Jul 2006 13:10:00 +0100, beamendsltd enlightened us thusly:
I suspect that Paypal is now big enough that it's bothered about its reputation. Like credit cards, it relies on enough people trusting it - if people don't trust it and use it then it makes no money. Thus, they have to be seen to act in the event of problems - it wouldn't take many vociferous pissed off ex-customers to make a dent in the profits...
Have a search for "paypal" on the weber-net, you'll find a lot of pissed off ex-customers, both buyers and sellers.. Perhaps one day they'll change. Ebay used Billpoint years ago, realised how crap it was and then bought Paypal, who are creating the same kind of stink amongst buyers and sellers that Billpoint did.
Bit like this you mean...
Matt
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