Below is an exhaustive collection of policy changes made by paypal sinc 2003 until today.  This is Part 3 of 4 parts. You will find here much good info that you may find skeptical and controversial with Ebays policy.  Please read and enjoy.

Policy Updates
 

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User Agreement Updates
 
 
Notice Date: January 17, 2007
Effective Date: January 17, 2007
Updated the U.S. version of the User Agreement to provide concise and clearer language to help users understand PayPal's terms and conditions of use. Updated the PayPal Buyer Protection Policy for all European countries. Updated the Australian version of the User Agreement and Product Disclosure Statement. Updated the Gift Certificate Terms, Gift Certificate Merchant Terms And Conditions, and Gift Certificate Merchant Policy for U.S., Australia, and all European countries to clarify the obligations of PayPal, the merchant, the purchaser and the recipient, and to clarify the terms surrounding the funding of the Gift Certificates. Updated Section b., Receiving Payments, of the Fees Policy for all European countries. In the Withdrawals section of the Payments (Sending, Receiving and Withdrawals) Policy for the Czech Republic, updated the list of countries eligible for registering a local bank account. Added further information on PayPal's use of credit reference agencies in connection with customers who apply for and/or use the PayPal Website Payments Pro product to the Privacy Policy for all European countries. Changed the currency from GBP to EURO in Section 2.7, Liability, of the Spanish version of the User Agreement. Added a Financial Services Acceptable Use Policy for all countries. Added a Charities and Non-Profit Organizations Acceptable Use Policy for all European countries and Australia. Updated the Prescription Drugs and Devices, Illegal Drugs & Paraphernalia, Firearms, Weapons, and Knives, and Money Service Businesses Acceptable Use Policies for U.S.. Updated the PayPal's Weapons and Knives and Firearms, Ammunition, Replicas, and Militaria Acceptable Use Policies for all European countries.

Accepting or Denying Partial Refunds
 
 
Notice Date: July 1, 2004
Effective Date: August 6, 2004
Partial refunds, other than claims under the PayPal Buyer Protection Policy, will now automatically be credited to the buyer's PayPal account. However, when a seller offers a partial refund in an attempt to settle a claim under the PayPal Buyer Protection Policy, the buyer will have the ability to accept or deny the refund offer.

Further Identity and Business Authentication for German Users
 
 
Notice Date: July 1, 2004
Effective Date: August 6, 2004
German users who receive a total cumulative amount greater than €7,500.00 EUR will be required to provide further authentication of identity and business. Such additional information may include requiring faxed documentation relating to the business or user personally, third party verification checks and contact from a PayPal account representative.

Merchant Referral Bonus Update
 
 
Notice Date: July 1, 2004
Effective Date: August 6, 2004
The PayPal Bonuses Policy has been changed as follows: The Initial Payout of $1.00 USD is credited when the Merchant reaches $200.00 USD in NMS, the Maximum Payout is increased to $1,000.00 USD, and the Payout Period increased to 12 months. Values for currencies other than USD are shown in the following table.

Currency of
Primary Balance
 Initial Payout
Threshold (NMS)
 Initial Payout Maximum Payout
Canadian Dollars
 $300.00 CAD $1.50 CAD
 $1,500.00 CAD
 
Euros
 €200.00 EUR
 €1.00 EUR
 €1,000.00 EUR
 
Pounds Sterling
 £50.00 GBP
 £0.50 GBP
 £750.00 GBP
 
Yen
 ¥20,000 JPY
 ¥100 JPY
 ¥100,000 JPY
 
 

French User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: July 1, 2004
Effective Date: August 6, 2004
The phrase "legal warranty for defaults or hidden defects" was added to section 2.3 No Warranty. The phrase "or French courts for French consumers" was added to the section 15.1 Governing Law and Legal Disputes.

Belgian User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: July 1, 2004
Effective Date: August 6, 2004
The phrase "legal warranty for defaults or hidden defects" was added to section 2.3 No Warranty. The phrase "or Belgian courts for Belgian users." was added to section 15.1 Governing Law and Legal Disputes.

Bank Account Withdrawal for Ireland
 
 
Notice Date: July 1, 2004
Effective Date: August 6, 2004
Beginning August 6, 2004, PayPal will enable members in Ireland to withdraw funds from their PayPal account to a local bank account.

Changes to PayPal Pricing Tiers for Canadian Sellers
 
 
Notice Date: June 15, 2004
Effective Date: August 6, 2004
Beginning August 6, 2004, PayPal will revise its fee structure in order to make PayPal more cost-effective for Canadian sellers of various sizes.

Under the new performance-based fee structure, regardless of the currency of the payment, the standard rate for transactions with Canadian and U.S. buyers will remain at 2.9%, while the merchant rate will be expanded to three tiers, 2.5%, 2.2%, and 1.9% depending on the seller's monthly transaction volume and a one-time successful application. The effective standard rate for cross-border transactions (transactions with buyers outside Canada or the U.S.), regardless of currency, will remain at 3.9%, while the merchant rate tiers will be 3.5%, 3.2% and 2.9%. The fixed fee for both domestic and cross-border transactions will be $0.30 USD, $0.55 CAD, £0.20 GBP, €0.35 EUR or ¥40 JPY (depending on the currency of the transaction).

Canadian accounts that are already receiving the current merchant rate as of June 15, 2004 will (through August 6, 2005) to be charged no more than 2.2% plus the fixed fee for transactions with Canadian and U.S. buyers, and 3.2% plus the fixed fee for cross-border transactions, regardless of transaction volume. Otherwise, each seller's tier will be subject to adjustment at the beginning of each month based on the seller's transaction volume in the previous calendar month. To find out more about the new performance-based fee structure and the monthly volumes needed to qualify for each of the merchant rate tiers, see a preview of new Canadian Domestic Fees and Canadian Cross-Border Fees.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: June 8, 2004
Effective Date: June 8, 2004

PayPal Buyer Credit Policy modified to clarify that only U.S. and Canadian sellers can advertise financing on eBay.com listings.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: June 4, 2004
Effective Date: June 4, 2004
Added the Buyer Credit Policy.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: June 4, 2004
Effective Date: June 4, 2004
Removed the following sentence from the DE PBP Policy: For transactions equal to €200.00 EUR (or the equivalent in the currency of the transaction) or more in value, you will also need to provide an online proof-of-receipt in the form of a signature from the recipient.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: June 4, 2004
Effective Date: June 4, 2004
Removed the following paragraph from the U.K. and European User Agreements because the information was inaccurate and/or redundant: If you do not access your account for a period of three years, it will be terminated. After the date of termination, we will use the information you provided to try to send you any funds that we are holding in custody for you. If that information is not correct, and we are unable to complete the payment to you, your funds will be subject to applicable state laws regarding escheat of unclaimed property.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: June 4, 2004
Effective Date: June 4, 2004
Changed the total cumulative amount that European users can receive before they are required to provide further authentication of their identity and business. Added clarification for British and European users regarding sending limit requirements. Clarified when and with whom PayPal may share private information. Added paragraph that instructs users on how to change their notification preferences so they will not receive Partner/Third-Party Promotions or the PayPal Periodical Monthly Newsletter and Product Updates. Added clarification regarding how users can avoid having their information shared with one of PayPal's co-branded partners. Added table to the Seller Protection Policy to clarify for merchants to what countries they could ship to and still be eligible for Seller Protection Policy. Made minor formatting, grammatical, and spelling changes to the Seller Protection Policy. Added table to the Policy Conditions section of the Seller Protection Policy to clarify for merchants the international reversal amounts that PayPal is willing to absorb if all of the policy conditions are met. Minor punctuation corrections to the Privacy Policy. Added a link from the Privacy Policy to the Notifications page. Minor grammatical changes to the U.K. and European Privacy Policies, as well as the U.K. Preapproved Payments Policy.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: April 29, 2004
Effective Date: June 4, 2004
Added the Preapproved Payment policy, and a new link to this policy from the User Agreement. Clarified the Termination or Closing Your Account section of the User Agreement regarding the release of funds by PayPal. Updated the Disclosure to Other PayPal Customers section of the User Agreement regarding the necessity of user's granting express permission. Added country-specific text regarding the links that appear at the top of the outside User Agreement and Privacy Policy pages that link to other versions of the User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

German Language Preference for Austria and Switzerland
 
 
Notice Date: April 29, 2004
Effective Date: June 4, 2004
Effective June 4, 2004, PayPal will enable members in Austria and Switzerland to use the PayPal website in the German language. PayPal members in these two countries, in addition to PayPal members in Germany, will be able to select either German or English as their preferred language in their Account Profile.

Enabling New Countries for PayPal
 
 
Notice Date: April 29, 2004
Effective Date: June 4, 2004
Users from the following 7 countries: Ecuador, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela will be allowed to create PayPal accounts, send and receive money and withdraw money to US banks.

Users from the following 4 countries: Jamaica, Argentina, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic will be allowed to receive money in addition to their existing capability of sending money.

Clarification Regarding Sharing Customer Information
 
 
Notice Date: April 29, 2004
Effective Date: June 4, 2004
PayPal's Privacy Policy has been revised to clarify customers' rights to choose not to share their information with PayPal's joint marketing partners.

German PayPal Buyer Protection
 
 
Notice Date: April 29, 2004
Effective Date: June 14, 2004
Effective June 14, 2004, PayPal will enable eBay sellers in Germany to offer buyers coverage up to €400.00 EUR for claims of non-delivery or 'significantly not as described' on qualified eBay listings which are paid for with PayPal. To qualify, German sellers must have a Verified Personal (Personal accounts eligible on www.ebay.de only), Premier or Business PayPal account in good standing and have an eBay feedback score of 50 or more with at least 98% positive feedback. In addition, sellers must select PayPal as a payment option when they list the item. Items must be listed on eBay.de, eBay.com, eBay.co.uk, or eBay.ca to qualify. PayPal Buyer Protection is only available for tangible goods. Qualified listings will then display a PayPal Buyer Protection seal on eBay.

All buyers worldwide are eligible for coverage, provided the listing displays the PayPal Buyer Protection seal, that the buyer uses PayPal to pay the seller at the same PayPal account used in the listing, and file their claim within 30 days of payment. Buyers may only receive two PayPal Buyer Protection claim awards per calendar year.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: February 13, 2004
Effective Date: February 13, 2004
Revised Buyer Complaint Policy to highlight the requirement to file any claims within 30 days of the transaction, and to clarify the distinction between the Buyer Complaint process and credit card chargeback rights.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: February 13, 2004
Effective Date: February 13, 2004
Updated Payments (Sending, Receiving, Withdrawing) Policy to include section II.3, Personal Account Receiving Limits. Added Section 8, Auto Return, to Premier and Business Account Policy. Added part (e) to section 11 of the main User Agreement. Clarified the Shipping requirements in section 2.e of the Seller Protection Policy. Clarified the PayPal Buyer Protection Policy to include the following edits: a. Updated the amounts of coverage for each Primary Currency; b. Added more information to section 4.d, One Claim per Payment; c. Clarified section 4.f, Buyer Responsibilities, to show that buyers must use online-trackable shipping where possible; and d. Updated the Policy to show that listings on any of the 3 eBay sites (eBay.com, eBay.ca, and eBay.co.uk) are eligible for protection under the Policy.

PayPal Buyer Protection for ebay.co.uk and ebay.ca
 
 
Notice Date: January 8, 2004
Effective Date: February 17, 2004
Effective February 17, 2004, PayPal will enable eBay sellers in the UK to offer buyers coverage of up to £250.00 GBP for non-delivery or "significantly not as described" claims on qualified eBay listings which are paid for with PayPal. To qualify, sellers must have a U.S., UK, or Canadian Verified Premier or Business PayPal account in good standing and have an eBay feedback score of 50 or more with at least 98% positive feedback. The listing must be on www.ebay.com, www.ebay.co.uk, or www.ebay.ca. In addition, sellers must select PayPal as a payment option when they list the item (whether they are using eBay's Sell Your Item form or bulk listing tools such as Turbo Lister or Seller Assistant). PayPal Buyer Protection is only available for tangible goods (items which can be posted). Qualified listings will display the PayPal Buyer Protection seal.

All buyers worldwide are eligible for coverage, provided the listing displays the PayPal Buyer Protection seal, they use PayPal to pay the seller at the same PayPal account used in the listing, and they file their claim within 30 days of payment. Buyers may only receive two PayPal Buyer Protection claim awards per calendar year.

Personal Account Receiving Limits
 
 
Notice Date: January 8, 2004
Effective Date: February 13, 2004
Starting on February 13, 2004, PayPal will begin capping the amount Personal account holders in the U.S., U.K., and Canada are able to receive per month. The cap will be the equivalent of $1,000.00 USD, based on the Primary Currency of the account. In addition, users will no longer be allowed to split payments between Personal and Premier/Business accounts. Only ecommerce payments received from eBay, auction, or website sales will count towards the receiving limit.

Bank Account Withdrawal for Korea and Taiwan
 
 
Notice Date: January 8, 2004
Effective Date: February 13, 2004
Starting February 13, 2004, PayPal will enable members in Korea and Taiwan to withdraw funds from their PayPal account to a local bank account.

U.S. Bank Accounts for EU Users
 
 
Notice Date: January 8, 2004
Effective Date: February 13, 2004
Effective February 13, 2004, users in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and UK will no longer be able to use their U.S. bank accounts to make payments or fund their PayPal account. These users may continue to withdraw funds from their PayPal accounts to their U.S. bank accounts.

Withdrawal Limit Update
 
 
Notice Date: January 8, 2004
Effective Date: February 13, 2004
Effective February 13, 2004, the Withdrawal Limit for users in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and UK will change. Currently, prior to completion of the Expanded Use Program, users in these countries are subject to a monthly withdrawal limit. Effective February 13, 2004, users in these countries will be subject to two types of limits: a monthly limit, and a cumulative withdrawal limit, which is the total amount of money that a user may withdraw during the period from registration until completion of the Expanded Use Program, regardless of the number of months in that period. Completion of the Expanded Use Program will lift all Withdrawal Limits (but PayPal continues to reserve the right to review large withdrawals before releasing the funds). Users in these countries can continue to check their limits by logging in to their account and clicking View Limits.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: January 8, 2004
Effective Date: January 8, 2004
Updated main User Agreement and Payments Policy to remove provision which permitted debiting of bank accounts to recover money owed to PayPal.

Privacy Policy Update
 
 
Notice Date: December 11, 2003
Effective Date: December 11, 2003
Edited Privacy Policy to clarify that PayPal VISA© card is only available in the U.S.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: December 11, 2003
Effective Date: December 11, 2003
Edited Money Back Guarantee Policy to clarify that coverage is for U.S. buyers only.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: November 6, 2003
Effective Date: November 6, 2003
Edited Bonus Policy to clarify coverage and requirements for Merchant Referral Bonus pilot program.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: October 16, 2003
Effective Date: October 16, 2003
Edited Seller Protection Policy to clarify coverage and requirements. Updated Mature Audiences section of the Acceptable Use Policy because PayPal may no longer be used to sell items in eBay's Mature Audiences section.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: October 10, 2003
Effective Date: October 10, 2003
Added PayPal Buyer Protection Policy. Updated Buyer Complaint Policy to reflect discontinuance of Additional Protection for eBay Auctions. Added U.K. eligibility information to Seller Protection Policy, and clarified requirements to ship to address provided on Transaction Details page and to confirm that the transaction is listed as "Seller Protection Policy Eligible." Updated Privacy Policy to include information about the Merchant Referral Bonus. Updated Payments (Sending, Receiving, and Withdrawals) Policy with information about adding and confirming a Canadian bank account and to add Italy to list of countries which may withdraw funds from their PayPal account to a local bank account. Updated main User Agreement to fix typo and add Gift Certificates to Section 10.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: September 26, 2003
Effective Date: September 26, 2003
Updated Bonus Policy to reflect discontinuance of the New Account and Referral Bonuses. Amended PayPal Shops Policy to show that users outside of the U.S. and Canada may no longer register new PayPal Shops.

PayPal Buyer Protection
 
 
Notice Date: September 8, 2003
Effective Date: October 14, 2003
Effective October 14, 2003, PayPal will begin providing eBay buyers with coverage of up to $500.00 USD for claims of non-delivery or significantly-not-as-described on qualified eBay listings which are paid for with PayPal. To qualify, sellers must have a U.S. or Canadian Verified Premier or Business PayPal account in good standing and have eBay feedback of more than 50 with at least 98% positive feedback. In addition, the listing must be on www.ebay.com and sellers must select PayPal as a payment option when they list the item (whether they are using eBay's Sell Your Item form or bulk listing tools such as Turbo Lister or Seller Assistant. Qualified listings will then display a PayPal Buyer Protection seal. PayPal Buyer Protection is only available for tangible goods (items which can be shipped).

All buyers worldwide are eligible for coverage, provided the listing displays the PayPal Buyer Protection seal, they use PayPal to pay the seller at the same PayPal account used in the listing, and file their claim within 30 days of payment. Buyers may only receive two PayPal Buyer Protection claim awards per year. PayPal Buyer Protection replaces PayPal's "Additional Protection for eBay Auctions" coverage, which will be discontinued.

Seller Protection Policy for UK
 
 
Notice Date: September 8, 2003 (updated October 16, 2003)
Effective Date: October 10, 2003
Effective October 10, 2003, UK Sellers will be eligible for free coverage under PayPal's Seller Protection Policy on qualified transactions with UK and US buyers. Sellers who follow the guidelines of the Seller Protection Policy will not be held liable for activity relating to chargebacks for the unauthorized use of credit or debit cards or false claims of non-receipt. Qualified transactions will be displayed as "Seller Protection Policy Eligible" in the Transaction Details page for a given transaction.

The requirements for coverage are as follows:
Have a Verified Premier or Business account
Ship tangible goods
Ensure the transaction is "Seller Protection Policy Eligible" on the Transaction Details Page
Ship the item to the address shown on the Transaction Details page
Use a shipping service that can be tracked online
Accept payment from only one PayPal account
Ship the item to a UK or US buyer at an address within the UK or the US
Ship the item within seven days of receiving payment
Respond to all PayPal inquiries about the transaction in a timely fashion
Do not impose a surcharge (additional fee for using PayPal) on the buyer

Address Confirmation Status Available in UK, CA
 
 
Notice Date: September 8, 2003
Effective Date: October 10, 2003
Effective October 10, 2003, addresses provided by UK and Canadian buyers may have the status of "Confirmed". A Confirmed Address is a user's credit card billing address. Though not all credit card companies are currently able to confirm an address, sellers can use the presence of a Confirmed Address as an additional risk management tool when considering transactions that are not eligible for the Seller Protection Policy. All addresses for users outside the US, UK, and Canada will continue to show a status of Unconfirmed.

Bank Account Funding for Canada
 
 
Notice Date: September 8, 2003
Effective Date: October 10, 2003
Effective October 10, 2003, users will be able to fund their PayPal accounts with a Canadian Dollar-denominated Canadian bank account. This functionality may be enabled by adding and confirming ownership of a bank account. There is no fee to transfer funds into a PayPal account.

User Agreement Update
 
 
Notice Date: September 4, 2003
Effective Date: September 4, 2003
Updated and simplified eligibility requirements in the Merchant Referral Bonus section of the Bonus Policy.

New Account and Referral Bonus Expiration
 
 
Notice Date: August 21, 2003 (updated August 25, 2003)
Effective Date: September 26, 2003
PayPal's New Account Bonus and Refer-A-Friend Bonus Programs will expire on September 26, 2003. PayPal Members can continue to earn a bonus up to September 26, 2003, as long as all bonus requirements are fulfilled by the expiration date. No bonuses will be paid after September 26, 2003. PayPal will continue to offer bonuses under the Merchant Referral Bonus Program. For more information about PayPal's bonus programs, please review the Bonus Policy.

PayPal Preferred Rewards / 1.5% Cashback Change
 
 
Notice Date: August 21, 2003 (updated August 21, 2003)
Effective Date: September 26, 2003
Starting on September 26, 2003, there will be two new requirements to receive 1.5% cashback on PayPal ATM / Debit Card purchases. The new requirements are as follows:
Maintain an active PayPal Premier or Business account
Have the PayPal Preferred on eBay preference turned on.
PayPal Preferred on eBay is a new feature that will be available to eBay Sellers at the end of September. This feature gives eBay sellers the ability to indicate to their buyers that they prefer PayPal. Buyers will see through participating sellers' listings that the sellers prefer PayPal.

Once the PayPal Preferred feature on eBay is available at the end of September, you will be able to turn it on from the PayPal website (click on the Auctions Link within the Profile tab) or from your Payment Preferences within My eBay.

These new requirements are in addition to the existing requirements to receive 1.5% cashback:
Obtain and activate a PayPal MasterCard ATM/Debit Card.
Have a valid eBay user ID and password registered with PayPal.
List on eBay at the rate of at least one item every three weeks.
Show PayPal in all of your eBay listings as the only online payment option that you advertise.
Sellers who do not meet these new and existing requirements will be disqualified from receiving 1.5% cashback on purchases. Disqualified users will have the opportunity to re-qualify by meeting all of the listed requirements.

PayPal Shops Discontinued Outside U.S. and Canada
 
 
Notice Date: August 21, 2003 (updated August 25, 2003)
Effective Date: September 26, 2003
Effective September 26, 2003, registration for the PayPal Shops directory will no longer be available to merchants outside of the United States and Canada. Merchants outside of Canada and the U.S. who are already registered for the directory will continue to be listed in the PayPal Shops directory, but will not be able to modify their Shops' business information and may remove their Shops listing only by contacting Customer Service.