( 
)
You have seen the eBay sellers who try to evade their legal and contractual responsibilities by posting a disclaimer in their auctions to the effect: "We are not responsible for items lost in the mail" or "We are not responsible for damages if you did not buy insurance." That is NOT true.
Those disclaimers are false and misleading, particularly with respect to online payment transactions, credit card transactions or any PayPal or ProPay transaction on eBay.
This guide will help you understand your rights and help you to file a "dispute" for an item paid for by PayPal or credit card but not received, using the eBay Dispute Console and/or the dispute process with PayPal.
Your eBay seller IS responsible for the safe delivery of your item. Some sellers try to take the position that their responsibility for an item ends when they give the item to the post office or other common carrier. Wrong. We are lobbying eBay to make it a selling violation for a seller to state in his listing that he is not responsible for items lost in the mail.
All online transactions, including all online auctions such as eBay are classified under Federal statutes as "mail order" transactions and are subject to Federal laws, regulations and guiding principles. Federal law, in particular the laws formulated under the Federal Trade Commission or FTC, governs Internet sales.
One of the guiding principles which governs online sales is that the Seller, not the Buyer, assumes all risk of loss and damage for merchandise he ships to sellers. The seller is responsible for the safe delivery of a item in the condition as represented, in compliance with all the sellers claims.
If the item is lost in transit, it is the SELLER who bears the financial risk of loss or damage.
If an item is damaged in transit, it is the SELLER who bears the financial risk of loss or damage.
Therefore, if a seller is shipping a valuable or fragile item, or any other item the loss of which he does not wish to pay for out of his pocket, it is incumbent on the seller to insure the item against loss or damage. If the seller fails to insure the item, the loss is his.
eBay, or any online auction company which acts as a venue to bring together buyers and sellers, sets the rules of that marketplace. A seller cannot disclaim liability for his responsibilities under the rules of the venue, nor the rule of law. Many sellers try to evade their responsibility (and some do) because they or their buyers are ignorant of or in violation of rules established by eBay, PayPal, the credit card issuer, or other online payment processor.
Most eBay sellers pass the cost of insurance on to the buyer by offering "optional" insurance coverage that the buyer is expected to pay. But even though the buyer is giving the seller the money to pay for the insurance, it is the seller who is actually buying the insurance coverage, which in turn protects him.
Most buyers have no objection to paying for insurance coverage, however the FTC considers it a form of coercion for sellers to ask buyers to pay for insurance. From our standpoint, we have no problem whatever with paying for insurance when we are buyers because, after all, we simply want to get our purchase as soon as possible and all in once piece, therefore we do not mind paying a few extra dollars.
eBay cautions buyers to buy only from sellers who offer some form of buyer protection, such as payment by a credit card or by a credit card through PayPal.
Therefore, starting in late October 2008, eBay will require all sellers to accept online payments either (1) via credit card merchant account processed directly through eBay checkout or (2) PayPal or (3) ProPay.
Those will be the ONLY payment methods allowed on eBay except for sellers who allow in-person pick-up. For those purchases, buyers can pay by check or money order. Sellers are prohibited from asking for cash payments.
Sellers who do not accept online payments will not be able to sell on eBay. All of those sellers who now insist on money orders will either accept online payments or leave eBay.
It will not be necessary for buyers to pay with a credit card, as they will still be able to pay online from their PayPal accounts or ProPay accounts that are linked to bank accounts.
We urge you to NEVER buy anything whatsoever online except by using a credit card.
Your seller's feedback rating is no guarantee of problem-free transaction because buyers have only been allowed to leave "honest" feedback (feedback for which a seller cannot retaliate) since May, 2008. Therefore you should consider feedback left after that date as more credible than earlier feedback that may have been given in fear of retaliatory negatives.
All sales where PayPal is offered are covered by PayPal's Buyer Protection program, in addition to the usual protection you have when you buy with a credit card.
You should always use a credit card for online purchases. A credit card affords you more protection than a debit card as debit cards are subject to slightly different Federal banking regulations, specifically Regulation E or simply "Reg E."
A seller who accepts PayPal but who claims that he is not responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail is engaging in deceptive tactics and is in violation of the PayPal User Agreement.
If you encounter a seller who takes PayPal but who claims he is not liable for lost or damaged items, refer him to his current PayPal User Agreement, specifically section 13.1, Buyer Protection Programs, [check for updates by going to the PayPal User Agreement] which states in part:
"13.1 Buyer Protection Programs. If you buy an item using PayPal and either do not receive it or receive an item that you believe is Significantly Not as Described the the seller, we encourage you to open a Dispute with the seller in our Resolution Center. By doing so, you will initiate our Online Dispute Resolution Process--a step-by-step system designed to facilitate communications between you and the seller in order to get resolution of the issue. If your dialogue with the seller fails to produce a satisfactory result, you can then escalate the Dispute into a Claim that we will evaluate for reimbursement under one of the following programs:
a. PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy-Our best efforts program to reimburse Users for losses only to the extent that we are able to recover the funds from the seller.
b. Buyer Protection Policy-Our program to reimburse Users for losses up to (i) $2,000 USD (Top Tier Coverage Amount) for eligible items purchased on eBay and (ii) up to $200 USD (Basic Tier Coverage Amount) for all other eligible items purchased on eBay. Please see section 13.9 to determine whether Top Tier Coverage Amount or Basic Tier Coverage Amount applies to your eBay purchase.
c. Buyer Protection for eBay Express-Our program to reimburse Users for the full amount of losses for items purchased on eBay Express.
d. Extended Buyer Protection with PayPal Credit-Our program to reimburse Users for the full transactional amount of the items purchased using PayPal credit."
Therefore, if any eBay seller who accepted your PayPal payment claims that loss or damage to an item is your problem if you did not purchase insurance, inform him -- and PayPal -- that he is mistaken.
A seller who accepts ANY form of online payments but who claims that he is not responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail is engaging in deceptive practices.
Your eBay seller is responsible for the safe delivery of your item. His responsibility does NOT end when he places your item in the mail.
Your credit card provider, online payment processor and/or PayPal WILL hold your seller responsible for your item if it is lost by the postal service, UPS, FedEx, etc, or is never delivered to you, regardless of whether you purchased insurance or not.
For your highest level of protection, always pay for your eBay purchases with a credit card, either directly or through PayPal.
When you pay by credit card you have an extra layer of recourse when you have a dispute with a seller.
Further, many credit card companies double or triple the basic warranty on your item, a feature that can be very worthwhile when you buy electronic items that may break down or fail after the initial warranty period. There are many advantages of buying with a credit card, the greatest advantage being buyer protection, not merely convenience.
When you pay by check, wire transfer, money order or bank check, you have few avenues of recourse against a seller except a complaint to the FTC, your State Attorney General, the filing of a civil lawsuit or a claim of fraud with law enforcement authorities. The FTC home page is at ftc.gov. You should also file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center which is a joint effort by the FBI, National White Collar Crime Center and the Justice Department. Their home page and complaint form is at ic3.gov.
For most of those sellers that means that they will be required to accept PayPal, or ProPay as most smaller sellers with low monthy sales volume cannot qualify for a merchant credit card account.
It is imperative that all Sellers be acquainted with their duties and obligations under the eBay User Agreement and their PayPal or ProPay User Agreement. Sellers' feedback ratings are a factor in determining their eBay selling fees: bad sellers pay more to sell; good sellers pay lower fees. To avoid customer complaints and higher selling fees it is very important that sellers know their obligations governing mail order sales. If you do not want negative feedback or to have your "stars dinged," you need to know and follow the rules.
As of November 1, 2008 all sellers must maintain a minimum DSR (Detailed Seller Rating) of 4.3 in all four categories in order to remain on eBay. Sellers who do not maintain those minimums will be not be permitted to list anything for sale on eBay. It is therefore very important that sellers give the best possible buying experience to all buyers and it is very important that all buyers give honest evaluations to sellers.
Sellers have always had a means of getting rid of "bad" buyers (ones who don't pay and who are reported as non-payers) but now buyers have a means of getting rid of the "bad" sellers. If you have had an especially bad experience with a seller, you should give him a negative feedback in addition to low DSR star ratings. Low DSR's are the "new negative." Your seller CANNOT retaliate against you.
Buyers: If an item is never delivered to you and you file a dispute with your online payment processor, or your credit card provider and/or PayPal/ProPay you WILL receive a full refund, including shipping.
If your item has not been delivered to you within a reasonable time, communicate with your seller to find out when it was shipped, the Delivery Confirmation number or tracking number, etc.
If your seller does not have a delivery confirmation number or tracking number, or other evidence of delivery to your address, he will never be able to prove delivery of your item and you will win the PayPal or credit card dispute.
You may file an "item not received" report with eBay, PayPal or your credit card provider when your item has gone undelivered for 10 days, however it is not uncommon for items to go undelivered for much longer, depending upon method of shipment. Parcel post and media mail are extremely slow. Federal law, specifically the "30 Day Rule" of the FTC, requires your seller to ship your item within 30 days. However eBay and PayPal require your seller to ship within 7 days of receiving cleared payment. If your seller failed to ship within 7 days, he is not covered by any seller protection program on eBay.
If you have not received an item by 30 days from the date of payment, you must immediately file an "item not received" report with eBay, PayPal and your credit card company. You may file the notice as early as 10 days after payment and we strongly urge you to do so.
How to file a dispute for item not received:
Simply go the the eBay Dispute Console, the link to which you will find on your My eBay page, on the lower left margin. From there you will be re-directed to PayPal where you will enter the transaction information for the item. You may also go directly to your PayPal account to file the dispute.
As soon as you have completed the dispute information on the basis of "item not received," you should IMMEDIATELY escalate the dispute to a "CLAIM." Repeat: DO NOT wait for the seller to reply to your dispute, but IMMEDIATELY escalate the dispute to a claim.
Your seller will have 7 days to reply to PayPal. If he does not reply, you win. If he does reply but cannot prove that the item was delivered to your address, you win. You will receive a refund and the dispute will be closed.
Even if you lose a PayPal dispute, your credit card company may find in your favor, in which case you will receive a refund. The findings of your credit card company trump those of PayPal.
Your refund will be for the full amount of your payment, INCLUDING SHIPPING. If you do not receive an item, you pay nothing. You suffer no loss whatever.
If your seller says "Sorry pal, our sales terms clearly state that we are not responsible for items lost in shipment if you did not buy insurance," you now know how to respond to him. You will receive a full refund.
Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our 
