is there any way to know how a paypal payment was funded?

[kitschnvintage]

As a Seller, is there any way for me to tell or know how a Buyer funded their paypal payment to me ( e-check, balance transfer, c/c funded etc..) ?  

[femmefan1946]

Basically it's none of your business. 

Which is why our customers use PP to begin with; it anonymizes their financial information.

They pay, you ship.

E-cheques, which are funded by a bank account, will show as pending clearance, however. This can take up to 10 days. Do NOT ship until the e-cheque has cleared*.

*There is a current question on the Boards from a seller who is wondering if she should give her customer a THIRD chance to have an e-cheque clear. 

[momcqueen]

In a word: no. 

[momcqueen]

Is there a burning reason you want to know how a transaction was funded? Has there been a problem of some kind?

[kitschnvintage]

Hi, no problem ... yet, but I see one on the horizon... that will be a new question on the board soon 🙂

I was just wondering though to help me determine how much money I should just keep in my paypal account to cover any instances of credit card charge backs specifically... or is any transaction not really a done deal for 180 days ? Thanks kindly!

[momcqueen]

After the 21-day hold on payments for new sellers, you are free to do with your balance as you see fit.

Chargebacks or other Resolution Centre-type issues are, honestly, very few and far between.

While it's nice to keep a balance in a paypal account, it's not necessary to keep one there as insurance. 

I've had a couple thousand of transactions now and only had my paypal funds frozen thrice. All of which were as a result of errors made by either the Resolution Centre, or quickly reversed by paypal itself. 

I've not had to issue any refund as result of a paypal freeze or refunds in general past the point of a postage refund immediately after payment if the buyer was unable to use the Shopping Cart to combine postage the way they should have. Any refunds I've given have been entirely voluntary. Those don't come from a freeze as the result of a chargeback or SNAD or INR thing. 

Don't worry.

[mr.elmwood]

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@themodernowl wrote:

Hi, no problem ... yet, but I see one on the horizon... that will be a new question on the board soon 🙂

I was just wondering though to help me determine how much money I should just keep in my paypal account to cover any instances of credit card charge backs specifically... or is any transaction not really a done deal for 180 days ? Thanks kindly!

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Your are joking, right? I have had one in eleven thousand sales, 1:11,000.

[kitschnvintage]

Hi, thanks very much to the both of you for taking the time to reply ... so here's the problem I'm facing .... 

I sold , buyer paid , I shipped to the USA... now the item tracking shows: Recipient not at address item being returned to sender 😞 ? I mailed the package to the confirmed paypal address (which matches the ebay address, not that it matters I guess but at least there was no discrepancy there) ... but I'm wondering if I'm covered by any Seller Protection in this case? I have had no contact from the buyer yet about not receiving anything ... and they have limited ebay feedback with no ebay feedback for over a year .. so I just don't have a warm fuzzy feeling about this transaction. 

[kitschnvintage]

yes well I may have 1 in 17 sales .. aren't I lucky ? LOL 

[momcqueen]

If you shipped to the address on the paypal transaction and/or ebay buyer address in the sales record, you are covered by Seller Protection. That it had to be Retuned to Sender is not your fault.

HOWEVER, this is a funny area. While the buyer has no actual right now to demand a refund, most sellers do issue one anyway despite not being obligated to do so. I mean, it's true that you did everything expected of you and the problem is on the receiving end but I have had this happen as a seller and issued a refund in full but only when I had the order back in my hands to determine it was still sellable. I refunded the buyer and then relisted it at a new cost which incorporated my postage losses fro the first time it was mailed.

p.s. Don't mind Mr. E. The E stands for Expert. 

p.p.s. Don't mind my multiple edits also. I am a terrible typist and I had to correct spelling errors.

[momcqueen]

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@themodernowl wrote:

Hi, thanks very much to the both of you for taking the time to reply ... so here's the problem I'm facing .... 

I sold , buyer paid , I shipped to the USA... now the item tracking shows: Recipient not at address item being returned to sender 😞 ? I mailed the package to the confirmed paypal address (which matches the ebay address, not that it matters I guess but at least there was no discrepancy there) ... but I'm wondering if I'm covered by any Seller Protection in this case? I have had no contact from the buyer yet about not receiving anything ... and they have limited ebay feedback with no ebay feedback for over a year .. so I just don't have a warm fuzzy feeling about this transaction. 

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That is the general message they use when an item must be shipped back. It could be for a number of different reasons that it was punted to you but you will not ever know. Maybe mention to the buyer to check tracking and ask if they are aware of it. 

Maybe they moved and forgot to update their address with ebay. That happens sometimes. 

[recped]

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@themodernowl wrote:

Hi, thanks very much to the both of you for taking the time to reply ... so here's the problem I'm facing .... 

I sold , buyer paid , I shipped to the USA... now the item tracking shows: Recipient not at address item being returned to sender 😞 ? I mailed the package to the confirmed paypal address (which matches the ebay address, not that it matters I guess but at least there was no discrepancy there) ... but I'm wondering if I'm covered by any Seller Protection in this case? I have had no contact from the buyer yet about not receiving anything ... and they have limited ebay feedback with no ebay feedback for over a year .. so I just don't have a warm fuzzy feeling about this transaction. 

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If your item is being returned to you what kind of `protection`do you need? And what does this have to do with possible chargebacks?

[ricarmic]

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@themodernowl wrote:

Hi, thanks very much to the both of you for taking the time to reply ... so here's the problem I'm facing .... 

I sold , buyer paid , I shipped to the USA... now the item tracking shows: Recipient not at address item being returned to sender 😞 ? I mailed the package to the confirmed paypal address (which matches the ebay address, not that it matters I guess but at least there was no discrepancy there) ... but I'm wondering if I'm covered by any Seller Protection in this case? I have had no contact from the buyer yet about not receiving anything ... and they have limited ebay feedback with no ebay feedback for over a year .. so I just don't have a warm fuzzy feeling about this transaction. 

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Hi! Before you panic too much, please keep an eye on the tracking updates. I have seen this message before, and lo and behold a day or two later it shows as delivered.

I believe the tracking mis-reads or mis-states situations where the item arrived at the wrong zip code and is redirected. That is what appears to have happened the times I've seen this message. (I can't remember if I was watching from the US tracking or the Canadian tracking).

There is a very good chance it will still arrive, just keep an eye on the updates for a bit.....

[momcqueen]

Oh, that's true too!

[kitschnvintage]

Thank you , and MJ also , I will just keep watching. 

And sorry, too,  I really should have started a new topic or question for this instead of tacking it onto a paypal payments question.

[femmefan1946]

now the item tracking shows: Recipient not at address item being returned to sender

Ethically you should be refunding-- when you get the item back.

Not before.

Which is sometimes a couple of months.

As a seller you are protected by the tracking that shows "attempted delivery".

And there is the question, which is up to the seller as far as I can tell, of whether the money the buyer gave you for shipping should be refunded too.

That money is not in your pocket, it went to Canada Post.

And sometimes the orginal sender is charged for the return postage.

Should that also be covered by the buyer's payment?

You can also Report the buyer for incorrect address information.